The Pirate Bay hopes to buy its own country: Sealand

Torrent-tracker site The Pirate Bay is trying to purchase its own country, and …

Where do you go when you think it's crucial to provide access to ad-free episodes of Heroes but the rest of the world labels you a dirty pirate? If you're Swedish "intellectual property reform group" The Pirate Bay, you look for your own country.

The group has launched a donation drive to purchase the man-made isle of Sealand, a World War II-era British naval platform sitting in the sea off the coast of Harwich in southern England. For the last few decades, the rusting structure has been run as a "principality" by Paddy Roy Bates, perhaps better known by his princely title, Roy of Sealand. Roy and his family value their independence and want nothing to do with England (except to live there and maintain their English passports), and they've been involved in a series of bizarre confrontations over the platform that they first occupied in 1967.

Roy's son was once kidnapped by some "legitimate business men" who had come to Sealand to cut some kind of deal, and Roy used guns to defend his platform against the British Navy in 1968. Perhaps inevitably, the platform attracted interest from computer users, who saw it as a place where libertarian fantasies could be played out with no government interference. An Internet co-location service called HavenCo actually set up shop on Sealand in 2000 after negotiating a deal with King Roy; a 1Mbps link cost $1,800 per month, and hardware had to purchased from HavenCo because of security concerns.

HavenCo's founder left in 2003 and a fire hit Sealand in 2006. King Roy, now grown quite old, is ready to sell his kingdom to the highest bidder, and The Pirate Bay hopes to be the one hoisting the Jolly Roger over the platform. After all, what could be more perfect for hosting servers than a humid, salty concrete platform surrounded by water without external electricity and with a highly dubious claim to sovereignty?

As of January 15, the group has raised over $13,000 for the effort, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the expected asking price. Those who donate will be granted citizenship in the new country. The Pirate Bay today announced that the government of Sealand is willing to enter negotiations with the group, which will be conducted by e-mail over the next few days.

Although the likelihood of actually purchasing the platform is small, The Pirate Bay has a backup plan. "If we do not get enough money required to buy the micronation of Sealand, we will try to buy another small island somewhere and claim it as our own country," says the group.